A Second Reference to Snow Tires

On January 3rd Jacques and I ventured out to the mountains nearby. First we passed through a town called Groslée to see a beautiful waterfall. This natural beauty is located just across the bridge that is pictured in my Cycling entry.

Following the waterfall visit we headed to Belley (Beuh-lay). There we stopped at a café where we spent the majority of 20 minutes laughing hysterically. I cannot even remember what triggered my funny bone but it was 'une crise de rire', you know like when you can't even look at your friend because they'll trigger more laughter and you have to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth to try and calm the explosive sound that is escaping.

After our healthy bout of hilarity we set out for the mountains, more specifically 'Le Col de Ballon.' We passed through a small town that from the highway was a typical, picturesque example of a French country village. Maybe it was because I could see the roofs of houses that were set on the downslope of the valley and it just looked so organic, pleasing to the eye. Old, rundown churches popped out; the wear-and-tear on all the buildings just left a nostalgic feeling in my body. Anyway, we started the climb mid-country village and found the road to be windy, poorly plowed, and narrow. But, that was beside the point- Jacques was proud of his snow tires and knew we'd make it to the top, worry free. Before each hairpin turn a nice, loud 'claque-sonne' rang out, warning any on-coming traffic that we were approaching.

Le Col de Ballon reaches 980-some meters and plateaus. There was a thin layer of snow, as you can see, that reminded me of PBS's Bob Ross and his therapeutic oil paintings of mountains and nature. It was quite nostalgic. I was also introduced to some French 70's music by Claude François. On the right I've posted a video of him singing, 'If I had a Hammer'.

Anyway, we stopped in a town called Hauteville and enjoyed a bit of hot chocolate before heading down the mountain. Apparently, Hauteville has more hospitals than grocery stores. It is a quiet, Swiss-looking mountain village where people go to recover from injuries or be treated for psychological maladies.

We saw three more waterfalls set in high cliffs just across a valley from the mountain-side road. It was so beautiful! Unfortunately I do not have any photos of them, just imagine it!